A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT creating the joint broadband‑smart grid task force to advance broadband Deployment and Energy Savings for Consumers and businesses in north carolina and to Enable Alternative Energy Development Crucial to the state.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is created the Joint Broadband‑Smart Grid Task Force (Task Force).  The purpose of the Task Force is to bring together public and private telecommunications Internet access providers, energy providers, economists, energy and broadband technologists, legislators, and others to:
(1)	Examine issues relating to the interoperability of telecommunications and smart grid applications in homes and businesses and the relationship of such interoperability to the North Carolina economy and its potential advantages and savings to the people and enterprises of the State.
(2)	Consider incentives and other funding mechanisms to advance the use of smart meters as well as last mile broadband deployment and their relationship to other software and manufactured devices that will allow North Carolinians to manage their energy usage more efficiently.
(3)	Consider the economic impact on North Carolina should the intersection of energy and broadband initiatives in homes and businesses result in a new major and innovative economic thrust to advance the State's competition in the global economy.
(4)	Review State building design standards relative to smart grid and broadband deployments.
(5)	Review the use of teleconferencing and telehealth by educational and health‑related  institutions and the feasibility of using those technologies to reduce energy costs related to travel and operations.
(6)	Review State policies that inhibit smart grid advances at the transmission level and programs that could increase the use of distributed energy devices from smart appliances, electric vehicles, alternative energy, and other relevant devices.
(7)	Examine the intersection of smart grid and telecommunications advanced applications and devices.
(8)	Consider any other matters pertaining to advancing smart grid and broadband technologies in the State.
(9)	Report to the 2011 General Assembly upon its convening and terminate upon filing the report.
SECTION 1.(b)  The Task Force shall consist of 19 voting members appointed as follows:
(1)	Nine members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives:
a.	Three members of the House of Representatives.
b.	Two representatives of telecommunications Internet provider companies in the State, including wireline, cable, or wireless companies.
c.	One representative of the academic community whose area of expertise focuses on energy and broadband interconnectedness.
d.	One representative of the environmental nonprofit community.
e.	One economist knowledgeable about energy and communications issues.
f.	One person from the general public who has demonstrated interest in matters pertaining to the intersection of electrical energy producers and the telecommunications industries as it relates to positive financial impact on citizens and businesses.
(2)	Nine members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, including:
a.	Three members of the Senate.
b.	Two representatives of telecommunications Internet provider companies in this State, including wireline, cable, or wireless companies.
c.	One representative of the electric energy provider industry in this State.
d.	One representative of the alternative energy providers in this State.
e.	One financial professional knowledgeable about the energy industry, the telecommunications industry, or both.
f.	One person from the general public who has demonstrated interest in matters pertaining to the intersection of electrical energy producers and the telecommunications industries as it relates to positive financial impact on citizens and businesses.
(3)	One person from the general public who has demonstrated interest in matters pertaining to the intersection of electrical energy producers and the telecommunications industries as it relates to positive financial impact on citizens and businesses who shall be elected by the other 18 members of the Task Force.
SECTION 1.(c)  The following shall serve as ex‑officio, nonvoting members of the Task Force: the Secretary of Commerce and the Chair of the North Carolina Utilities Commission (or their respective designees); a representative of Advanced Energy Resources; and a representative of the e‑NC Authority. The e‑NC Authority shall provide technical and research expertise to, and other assistance as requested by, the Task Force.
SECTION 2.  The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate each shall appoint a cochair for the Task Force. Upon approval of the Legislative Services Commission, the Legislative Services Officer shall assign professional and clerical staff to assist in the work of the Task Force. Clerical staff shall be furnished through the offices of the House of Representatives' and the Senate's Directors of Legislative Assistants. The Task Force may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building upon the approval of the Legislative Services Commission. The appointing authority shall fill vacancies. The Task Force, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all the powers provided under the provisions of G.S. 120‑19 through G.S. 120‑19.4, including the power to request all officers, agents, agencies, and departments of the State to provide any information, data, or documents within their possession, ascertainable from their records, or otherwise available to them and the power to subpoena witnesses.  Members of the Task Force shall receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances as follows:
(1)	Members of the General Assembly, at the rate established in G.S. 120‑3.1.
(2)	Members who are officials or employees of the State or of local government agencies, at the rate established in G.S. 138‑6.
(3)	All other members, at the rate established in G.S. 138‑5.
SECTION 3.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the General Assembly the sum of twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000) for the 2010‑2011 fiscal year to support the work of the Task Force.
SECTION 3.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the e‑NC Authority the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the 2010‑2011 fiscal year to fund its technical support of, and other activities concerning, the work of the Task Force.
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2010.